Bug in Unity when running Chrome on Linux

Unity Editor
1

So it looks like I can’t file any bugs with Unity, unless I have the Unity editor, well the Unity editor doesn’t appear to be available on Linux so I can’t file this bug. So I’m posting the bug here in hopes that someone can post the bug or the Unity devs see this.

But it seems that when Chrome/Chromium or any application based on those is running it prevents Unity games from running. I have to completely reboot my system and make sure Chrome doesn’t start or I can’t play my games until another reboot. In the logs it just gives the error “Player is already running.” This bug goes back years apparently, but I can’t find it listed on Unity’s website. I don’t know if this bug is on Windows or Mac since I don’t use those systems. Here’s a video showing what happens, at the time we thought the issue was Livestreamer Twitch GUI, but that is built on Chrome and the dev pointed us to Unity:

Posts about this issue:

https://www.gog.com/forum/pillars_of_eternity/player_already_running

Searching for unity3d “player is already running” returns over 4,000 results in Google.

2

According to the video you posted the issue no longer exists in newer versions of Unity so it sounds like its already fixed. The developers of the affected games would need to update to a newer version of Unity to rectify the issue.

We do have a Linux editor which you can use to post a bug report if you still have the issue: Unity on Linux: Release Notes and Known Issues - Unity Engine - Unity Discussions

3

We’re not developers, that’s just our unprofessional observation. Are you stating that I should post the bug with Unity or I should post it with the developers of each game or that it’s a nonissue to Unity since it might be fixed?

4

I have spoken to our Linux team and they say this issue is fixed.
Those games that are affected by this issue need to upgrade to a version that has the fix, its not something we can do from our end.Unfortunately you would need to speak to each of them and ask that they upgrade.

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5

Ok. Thanks for the confirmation karl_jones!

6

To add more detail, the fix landed in Unity 5.4.0.
The bug only manifests in games that use the “single instance” option - another alternative for gamedevs that don’t want to upgrade could be to disable that option for their Linux builds.

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